As the use of unmanned aircraft (UA), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones, etc., (referred to hereinafter as “UA” or “UAs”) becomes increasingly common, controlling UAs in various modes of flight becomes increasingly important.
In the national airspace system (NAS), UA flight is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Under the current regulatory landscape, the FAA requires that each UA is piloted by at least one pilot, typically while maintaining visual line of sight to the UA vehicle. However, in the near future, regulations are expected to allow for the autonomous flight of UAs.
Even during autonomous flight, a need may arise for a pilot to take control of the UA, such as during flight anomalies, corner cases, or adverse conditions where pre-programmed instructions will not be sufficient for maintaining safe flight for the UA. Challenges remain for adequately facilitating the handoff of a UA from autonomous flight to piloted flight under these circumstances.